So this past weekend I completed another trek to the frozen wastes of NH to campaign on behalf of Barack Obama. In brief, I love campaigns. There is something exciting about going out into a community and asking people for their vote, asking people to stand up to be counted, asking people to check back in. Of all the things I’ve done on campaigns, field is probably the hardest because the ask you make is for someone to actually take physical action. It’s strange to ask people for money but, usually, they get a little quid pro quo for the cash they give, as in time with the candidate. Field is all about getting people to take action on behalf of your candidate and that’s never easy because to most of us time is more valuable than money. Think about it $25, $100, $500, is easier because you’ll always make more; in fact in the time I write this I’ll make more than $25. But asking someone to donate their time on a weeknight or god-forbid a weekend, well let’s just say, most people would rather a root canal.
Now I tell you this because I went to NH to perform field work; the time honored tradition/mantra of doors and phones, phones and doors. And that I like the work makes the disaster that was Obama NH all the more difficult to fathom. When you ask people to donate their time you need to make good use of their time. You need to be prepared for them, with a plan and resources in place to make sure that they feel properly utilized. This was not the case. To say that Obama NH was disorganized gives the impression that they made an attempt at organization. It was unorganized chaos.
Now, I expect chaos, it comes with the territory of a campaign but a complete lack of organization stretches credulity.
As for his “defeat,” the pundits all talk about how Barack lost to Hillary and she’s “the new come back kid.” Nothing could be farther from the truth. In reading the poll numbers it was clear the most accurate prediction of the Democrats race came on December 27th-30th. But the actuals numbers were what we should have expected, Barack trailed Hillary by only a small margin due mostly to the differences in their field organizations.
People want to talk about how Hillary cried, or how Barack patronized her during the debate but reality is far simpler – HRC’s crack squad of field organizers on the ground early in NH, out-organized Barack’s disjointed ragtag group of college kids. Organization wins you elections and this sentiment couldn’t have been clear than January 8th in New Hampshire.
